Volusia deputies shoot, kill armed, suicidal man

Two Volusia County sheriff's deputies shot and killed a suicidal Bunnell man who approached them armed with a handgun Wednesday evening on Highbridge Road, a sheriff's spokesman said.

MARK I. JOHNSONSTAFF WRITER

Two Volusia County sheriff's deputies shot and killed a suicidal Bunnell man who approached them armed with a handgun Wednesday evening on Highbridge Road, a sheriff's spokesman said. The shooting occurred at 6:15 p.m. just west of the Halifax River near Ormond Beach, spokesman Brandon Haught said. The deputies were attempting to negotiate with the 52-year-old man, who has not been identified pending notification of family members, when he advanced on the officers in an aggressive manner brandishing a .38-caliber pistol. When he refused their warnings to stop, the deputies, who also were not identified Wednesday, fired their weapons and shot the man, who fell to the ground, Haught said. Haught would not disclose how many shots the deputies fired, saying the shooting is under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Haught said the deputies tried to negotiate with the man by sending text messages to his cellphone. At first he ignored their efforts and then responded with suicidal text statements and demands for the officers to leave him alone. At one point, the man fired a shot indiscriminately. "It is unknown what he may have been shooting at," Haught said in a news release. The incident began about 4 p.m. when the Flagler County Sheriff's Office requested Volusia County assistance after receiving information that a Bunnell man had sent text messages to his ex-girlfriend threatening to kill himself, Haught said. His cellphone signal was tracked to Highbridge Road, where a deputy found the man and his parked motorcycle about two-tenths of a mile west of the Highbridge Road bridge, which spans the Halifax River. The man, with gun in hand, told the deputy to stay away from him and continued to text suicidal messages, Haught said. The subject also pointed his handgun at himself, Haught said. After shooting the man, the two deputies waited to ensure if it was safe and then permitted paramedics to approach the fallen man. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:25 p.m. The deputies involved in the shooting have been placed on paid administrative leave, standard practice in officer-involved shootings, Haught said.